Jones County commissioners had a brief meeting last week to discuss the possibility of a fire tax to fund expenses for the county’s fire department.

Commissioner Larry Childs said he asked for the meeting because he thought it a good idea and could be a fair option to make sure firefighters have the equipment they need. He said Commissioner Daylon Martin actually brought up the idea in a previous meeting about the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

“I think fire districts would be a good way to fund the departments and keep the ISO rating as low as possible,” he said.

ISO ratings are the tools used by insurance companies to set homeowner insurance cost. A lower ISO rating equates to a lower insurance premium.

“We have a lot of gear that will be going out of date, and we know how difficult it is to fund this,” he said.